The Gargoyle Beast
by Nausicaa of the Spirits
Summary: Fanmake of 'The Iron Giant.' A girl makes friends with an innocent gargoyle beast that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
1. The Cast

Summary: Fanmake of 'The Iron Giant.' A girl makes friends with an innocent gargoyle beast that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the movie or any of the characters that appear in here. They belong to their original creators.

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**The Cast**

Hogarth Hughes. . .Penny (Bolt)

Iron Giant. . . Bronx (Gargoyles)

Annie Hughes. . .Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Dean McCoppin. . . The Once-ler (2012!The Lorax)

Kent Mansley. . . Crocker (Fairly OddParents)

General Rogard. . .General W.R. Monger (Monsters vs. Aliens)


	2. Chapter 1: Prologue

Thanks to **Secret-Universe**, **Detective88**, and **Energy witch** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 1: Prologue**

_**The Gargoyle Beast**_

_Miley Cyrus as Penny_

_Jodi Benson as Ariel_

_Ed Helms as the Once-ler_

_Carlos Alazraqui as Denzel Crocker_

_Kiefer Sutherland as General W.R. Monger_

_and Frank Welker as Bronx_

The story begins at night as an old woman gazes out the window of her house, before turning to her granddaughter.

"Snuggle in, Ellie," the old woman said. "It's cold out there."

"Can you tell me a story, Grandma?" Ellie asked.

"Not tonight, sweetie," the old woman said. "Go to sleep."

"I'm not sleepy," Ellie said. "Tell me a story. Tell me about something that happened back when you were younger."

"Well, alright," the old woman said with a smile, before she sat down in a chair beside her granddaughter's bedside. "Let's see now. Did I ever tell you about the time when I was thirteen years old that a mysterious creature appeared in this town?"

Ellie looked interested, as she said, "No."

"Well, sweetheart, you know that statue in the park of a creature that looks like a fish monster?" the old woman asked.

Ellie nodded.

"Well, one night, that creature appeared out of nowhere," the old woman said. "No one who saw it knew where it came from."

"Nobody?" asked Ellie.

"Especially a young girl who encountered that creature," the old woman added. "It all started on an autumn day in the year 1957."

* * *

A/n: And there you have it, for those of you who are about to say that this didn't appear in the beginning, yes, I know. I put in this part just to replace the scene that appeared in the beginning of the movie.


	3. Chapter 2: The Diner Incident

Thanks to **Skullgal94**, **Detective88**, and **DisneyGal1234** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 2: The Diner Incident**

It was the year 1957 in the town of Toonville. A young girl was riding down the road on her electric scooter with a shoebox strapped to the back. She had short red hair and brown eyes and wore a short-sleeved red T-shirt over a long-sleeved black T-shirt, black shorts, brown and tan striped tights and black shoes. Her name was Penny.

Soon enough, she arrived at the diner where her mother worked and parked her scooter on the sidewalk.

She entered the diner with the shoebox and looked around, before she heard someone call, "Over here, Penny!"

Penny smiled and waved, before going over to the counter where she heard the voice. The owner of the voice was a woman with long red hair and blue eyes who was wearing a waitress uniform. Her name was Ariel.

"Hey, Mom," Penny said, setting the shoebox down on a stool beside her, as she sat down. "You're not gonna believe our good luck. Guess what I found?"

Ariel sighed and said, "Penny, how many times have we been through this? No pets."

"But he's not a pet, Mom," Penny said, while failing to notice a tiny little arm come out of the shoebox and grab at a man's coat. "He's a friend."

Penny turned and then noticed the shoebox was half-open before she moved it to another stool, as Ariel said, "Penny, we've got to rent a room to make ends meet and no one wants shredded upholstery."

"You won't know he's there," Penny said. "I promise I'll put him in a cage."

"Of course you will," Ariel said, "until you feel sorry for him and set him free in the house. Do you remember the raccoon, Penny?" She shuddered, before she said, "I remember the raccoon."

"Please, Mom," Penny said, "at least look at him."

Ariel sighed and said, "Alright, alright, I'll humor you. Where is this guy?"

Penny smiled and turned to get the shoebox, only to find the lid had opened and whatever was inside of the box was gone.

"I…will go get him, okay?" Penny said, before she headed off to find whatever had been in the shoebox.

Penny looked everywhere, including under the tables, before she saw something move. It was a squirrel she caught, which had been in the shoebox. The squirrel scampered under a table and Penny turned to the person at the table, who was busy reading a newspaper.

"Excuse me," she said. "Excuse me. Sir." There was no answer and she was getting annoyed, so she lowered the newspaper and said, "Excuse me!"

To her surprise, the person reading the newspaper was asleep. He had black hair and was wearing a gray fedora, a gray button-up vest, black and gray striped pants, and black shoes.

He woke up and said, "What?"

"Whatever you do, don't move," Penny said. "My pet's under your table." He was about to look under the table, but Penny said, "Don't look. If you make a scene, my mom won't let me keep him."

"What kind of pet?" He asked her.

"A squirrel," Penny answered. "Don't worry, he's friendly."

Just then, at the next table over, they heard some laughter and looked over to see what it was.

"I'm telling the truth, dang it!" An old guy named Marvin Boggs was saying. "Just came right out of nowhere. I saw it! And it was heading toward town! I called the government in Washington about it. I think it was some sort of big lizard. Yeah, that's what it was, a big lizard!" Penny looked interested as she listened. "Or maybe some experiment that escaped from a lab!"

"An experiment?" An old guy named Frank Moses said. "Knowing you, Marvin, I'd say it was either LSD or some other unknown drug."

The group at the table laughed at Marvin, who looked disappointed.

At the other table, the man didn't like what he had heard, so he said, "Hey." The group at the table turned to him and he said, "I saw it too."

Everyone just stared at him, before Frank said, "I rest my case."

As the guy turned back, Penny said, "I believe you." As Penny was talking, neither of them noticed the squirrel approaching the guy's leg. "What if it is an experiment that escaped from a lab? I bet we could find it."

"Sorry, hon," the guy said. "I didn't really see anything. But if we don't stick up for the kooks, who will?"

At that moment, Ariel walked up and said, "Is my daughter bothering you, sir?"

Suddenly, the guy's eyes widened, before he said, "Yes." But then he said, "I mean, no!" He forced a smile on his face, as he said, "Call me Once-ler."

"Penny," Ariel said, "you were going to get your pet?"

"I will, Mom," Penny said. "Right after I finish talking with…"

"Once-ler," Once-ler said.

The two smiled and Ariel turned and left, before Once-ler said to Penny, "I think I found your pet."

"Really? Where?" asked Penny.

"Squirrel's up my pants, Penny," Once-ler said, "and I'm trying not to freak out here."

"Don't freak out," Penny said.

"Okay, he's heading north now," Once-ler said, before he got up and said to her, "Sorry about this." He then said to everyone in the diner, "I'd like to apologize to everyone in advance for this."

He unzipped his pants and the squirrel jumped out and began scampering around, causing chaos to ensue. Ariel watched all this unfold, before turning to glare at Once-ler and Penny.

"Check, please," the Once-ler said, while Penny just smiled nervously.


	4. Chapter 3: Late Night Encounter

Thanks to **Skullgal94**, **Musical Ninja**, and **Detective88** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 3: Late Night Encounter**

That evening, Penny arrived at home after catching the squirrel and releasing it back into the wild.

Once Penny was inside, the phone rang and Penny answered, saying, "Hello, Penny speaking. Who's calling?"

On the other line, Ariel said, "Penny, I'm sorry, but—" She quickly moved out of the way, avoiding the opening door, before she said, "I need to work late tonight. There's some cheese slices in the fridge, so you can have some grilled cheese."

"Way ahead of you, Mom," Penny said, getting the bread, cheese, and the butter out.

"I'll make it up to you, okay?" Ariel said.

"Okay," Penny said.

"I love you, honey," Ariel said.

"Love you too," Penny said.

She was about to hang up, but Ariel said, "And Penny? In bed by 9:00. Alright?"

"Right," Penny said.

* * *

Later, Penny was in bed reading when she heard some sounds outside. She looked up.

"Mom?" She called out.

When there was no answer, Penny got out of bed and grabbed a flashlight. After heading downstairs, she went to turn the porch light on, only to find it wouldn't turn on. Turning the flashlight on, she went out onto the porch and began shining the light around the outside of the house. Suddenly, something caught Penny's eye and she shone the flashlight on whatever she had seen. On the side of the house, there were claw marks, along with weirdly shaped footprints leading away from the house. Curiosity got the best of her, as she quickly headed back into the house, went upstairs, put her clothes back on, and then headed out of the house, following the footprints.

* * *

Soon enough, she was in the forest, following the footprints. As she shone her flashlight around, she noticed several trees with claw marks.

_It's probably just a bear, Penny,_ Penny thought to herself. _But what kind of bear has footprints that look reptilian?_

Suddenly, she heard rustling sounds and turned around. She ran and quickly hid behind a tree, before she quickly jumped out with her flashlight and saw…

Nothing.

The only thing there was the park.

She sighed and turned to go home, but gasped as a boy a few years older than her stood in front of her.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" The boy said. "Looks like a little bird lost its way."

Penny tried to keep her voice even, as she said, "I'm not lost."

She yelped as another boy grabbed her from behind.

"Alright, sweetheart, give me your money," the boy said.

"I-I don't have any," Penny said. "I swear!"

She got nervous as he pulled out a knife as the boy holding her said, "Well, terrible shame. You know what we do to people who don't have money?"

Penny was now out of her mind with fear, as she said, "No, please, no!"

Suddenly, without warning, something knocked the boy over and Penny took that opportunity to elbow the boy holding her in the stomach and run away. But, as she did, she stopped a short distance away to see what had saved her and gasped in shock.

What she saw was a reptilian-like creature with blue skin. Its underside was light blue, it had fish ears, and it had white eyes.

But, at that moment, the mugger pulled out the knife and stabbed the creature in the side with it and shoved him off of him.

"Let's get out of here," he yelled and he and the other mugger took off.

Penny turned to leave, but hesitated, before she went over to the creature. Kneeling beside it, she looked the creature over. It was unconscious. She pulled out the knife and set it down, before tearing part of her red shirt up and wrapping it around the creature's wound.

Once she had finished tending the creature's wound, she then looked at the creature.

"Where did you come from and what are you?" Penny said to herself.

Suddenly, the creature's eyes opened and Penny shrieked and jumped away, before she began running through the forest, glancing back to make sure the creature wasn't chasing after her.

Then she saw the road and a car driving down it.

"Help! Help! Stop! Help!" She shrieked.

Once she got onto the road and the car stopped, she looked back and saw that the creature hadn't followed her.

The person to come out of the car was Ariel.

"Penny," she cried in relief, as she ran to her daughter.

"Mom," Penny said.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ariel cried. "Don't you know better than to wander off at night alone? What if something happened? You could've been killed or worse!"

_You have no idea,_ Penny thought to herself, before she said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Don't ever that to me again, Penny," Ariel said, before hugging her. "I was so scared. I thought I'd lost you."

"Mom, you won't believe this," Penny said, "but something scratched the side of our home."

At this, Ariel groaned and got up, as she said, "Penny."

"I'm serious, Mom!" Penny cried. "It's not a giant lizard, like Marvin Boggs said!"

"Penny, please," Ariel said, as they both walked toward the car.

"It's some sort of creature," Penny said. "I don't know what type it is, but it was about a foot long, maybe more!"

"Stop it!" Ariel said. "Just-Just stop. I'm-I'm not in the mood right now. Come on, let's go home."

Penny sighed and got into the car, but not before glancing back one more time for the creature. As the two drove off, neither of them noticed the creature from before hiding in a bush, watching as the car left.


	5. Chapter 4: Denzel Crocker

Thanks to **Skullgal94**, **Movie-Brat**, and **Detective88** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 4: Denzel Crocker**

The next day, at school, Penny was in her classroom, looking through some library books and glancing at the sketch she had made of the creature from last night, trying to find out what the creature was and paying no attention to the movie.

After looking through the second to last book, Penny sighed and muttered to herself, "What are you?"

She then heard Danny Fenton whisper to Jake Long, "Hey, did you hear about crazy Marvin Boggs? He says some sort of giant lizard attacked his farm animals."

"Well, I heard it was some kind of experiment that escaped from a lab," Jake said.

"No, no, no," Ted Wiggins said, joining in the conversation. "It was a fish creature. It killed his animals. My grandma says—"

Penny, who had been listening to the conversation, groaned and turned to them, as she said, "You're all wrong. It wasn't any of those."

"Oh, and what would you know about it, Pen?" asked Jake.

"Penny," the teacher said, and Penny, Danny, Ted, and Jake turned, as the teacher shushed them and warned, "Don't make me come over there."

"It's about the size of a compact car or probably a panther," Penny whispered to the three boys. "And whatever it is, it's definitely not a lab experiment or a giant lizard."

"Oh, be quiet, Penny," Danny said.

Danny, Ted, and Jake continued discussing the creature, while Penny sighed and went back to trying to find out what the creature was. The last book she opened up was about gargoyles. She stopped on a page in the book when she saw a picture that looked just like her sketch.

_Bingo,_ she thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, Once-ler was busy loading some meat onto the truck, saying to an old man named Carl Frederickson, "Thanks, Carl. Sorry I can't pay you more."

"It's alright, Mr. Once-ler," Carl said. "Something almost got at the meat last night."

"Huh, wonder what could've done that," Once-ler said.

"I told you what," Marvin said.

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Once-ler said, with a smirk. "Escaped lab experiments."

"Thanks for believing me, kiddo," Marvin said. "I really did call the government. They're sending someone to take care of the whole thing even as we speak."

"Gee, Marvin," Once-ler said. "You really are crazy. I mean, who the heck would the government send?"

* * *

At the park, someone got out of a car. He had black hair and blue eyes and wore glasses, a white shirt with a black tie, black pants, and black shoes.

"Denzel Crocker," the man said, flashing his badge to a police officer. "Unexplained Phenomena."

"Chief Wiggum, I—" the police officer began.

"What happened?" Crocker said, cutting him off.

"Not sure," Wiggum said. "But last night, there was some sort of attack in the park. Couple of kids came in claiming some sort of creature attacked them. They weren't on drugs and didn't have any alcohol in their bloodstream. There was a lot of blood near the merry-go-round, but it wasn't even human. Whatever it is, must be some sort of big beast."

After jotting the notes down, Crocker said, "Big beast. You think it might be a lion, a tiger, or a bear?"

"What department did you say you worked for again?" asked Wiggum.

"I'm not allowed to reveal the particulars of the agency I work for," Crocker said, "and all that that implies."

"You mean, national security?"

"Let me put it to you like this," Crocker said. "Once in a while, things happen that no one can explain. People want to know that the government has a response. I am that response. Was there anything else found on the scene?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Wiggum said, as he pulled out a flashlight, "we found this." Crocker examined the flashlight. This is obviously Penny's flashlight with the word 'Pen' labeled on it. "United States Government, huh?" Wiggum asked. "Guess that means something big is happening here, huh?"

"No, Wiggum," Crocker said. "Big things happen in big places." He turned and left, saying, "And the sooner I fill out my report, the sooner I get back there." As he headed back to his car and got in, he said to himself, "Big beast, yeah right. The only big thing here is the carnival." But then, he turned and yelled, "OH MY GOD!" when he noticed that the passenger car seat had been torn out.

He quickly ran off, before a group of thugs looked out from some bushes and looked at each other with smirks.

* * *

A couple moments later, Crocker came back, dragging Wiggum with him, saying, "Come on, I need a witness! It's just around the corner!"

"Alright, slow down," Wiggum said.

"It's like something big tore out the seat," Crocker said. "Something stronger than Hercules or—"

Crocker broke off when he noticed that the rest of his car was now totaled and parts of it were stripped.

"So, what are we looking at here, Mr. Crocker?" asked Wiggum.

"Something big, Chief," Crocker said, picking Penny's flashlight up. "Something big."


	6. Chapter 5: Meeting the Gargoyle Beast

Thanks to **Skullgal94** and **Detective88** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 5: Meeting the Gargoyle Beast**

Meanwhile, Penny was heading into the forest with a strip of raw meat in one hand and a camera in the other. The book she had been looking at earlier today had identified the creature that had rescued her last night as a gargoyle beast. Now that she knew what it was, she was going to lure it out so she could get a picture of it to show her friends.

As she wandered further into the woods, she called out, "Hello! Come out! Hey, gargoyle beast, I got some food here for you! Meat! Nice, thick, juicy, delicious meat! Come and get it!"

Once she was near a tree stump, she set the strip of meat down by it and quickly hid behind a log, ready to take the picture of the gargoyle beast when it came.

Time passed as Penny patiently waited for the gargoyle beast to show up. As she waited, Penny cleaned the lens of the camera before testing out the camera by taking a picture of herself. The camera flashed and Penny cringed and rubbed her eyes.

* * *

Later, Penny had fallen fast asleep when she woke up. Her head shot up, then she quickly reached for her camera and aimed it at the clearing, but nearly dropped it in shock. The meat was gone!

Penny looked concerned, before she slowly backed away, but yelped, as she nearly slipped on something. Turning to see what it was, she gasped in shock when she saw it was the meat, untouched and not eaten. Realizing that whatever had moved the meat was still here, her gaze slowly moved away from it. There, standing a few feet away from the strip of meat, was the gargoyle beast.

Penny's mind went blank for a moment, before one word ran through her head: _RUN!_

Penny turned and quickly ran away. As she ran through the forest, she quickly glanced back and almost screamed when she saw the gargoyle beast following her. Penny continued running, until she ran right into a tree branch and fell over. She groaned and rubbed her nose, until she turned and saw the gargoyle beast slowly approaching her.

"N-Nice gargoyle beast," Penny said nervously. "Good boy."

The gargoyle beast stopped a few feet away from her and sat down on his haunches.

Penny stared warily, waiting for him to move.

When he didn't, she sighed and said, "So, I guess you're not gonna hurt me, huh?" The gargoyle beast leaped towards her and Penny yelped and braced herself, but he didn't land on top of her. Instead, he landed a few inches away from her and dropped something in front of her. Penny looked down to see what it was. "The knife those muggers tried to pull on me," Penny said, before she looked at the gargoyle beast and said, "You knew I helped you, didn't you?"

The gargoyle tilted its head and Penny said, "So, where are you from?" When the gargoyle didn't do anything to answer her question, Penny said, "You don't know, do you? Well, do you have a name?" When he didn't make any gesture indicating so, Penny said, "Huh, no name? Well, do you talk? You know, words? 'Blah-blah-blah,' like that? Can you do that? Blah-blah-blah?"

"Blah-blah-blah," the gargoyle beast answered.

"Well, you get the idea anyway," Penny said. "Let's see, now." She picked up a medium-sized rock and said, "See this? This is called a rock? Rock."

The gargoyle beast repeated, "Rock."

"Good," Penny said.

The gargoyle beast picked up a medium-sized rock and asked, "Rock?"

"Yes," Penny said.

The gargoyle beast then gestured to a pine tree and said, "Rock."

"No, no," Penny said, "that's a tree." She gestured to the rock the gargoyle beast was holding and said, "Rock," before pointing at the tree, "Tree. Get it?"

"Rock," the gargoyle beast said, referring to the rock he was holding, before gesturing to the tree, as he said, "Tree."

"Yes, that's right!" Penny exclaimed, before she said, "My own gargoyle beast! I am now officially the luckiest girl in all America!" She began pacing, as she said, "This is unbelievable! This is the greatest discovery since — oh, I don't know— television or something! I gotta tell somebody! I should call—" But then Penny stopped herself and said, "No, no, can't do that. They'll panic." She then said to the gargoyle beast, "People always freak out and shoot when they see something like you." The gargoyle beast gave her a puzzled look, before Penny said, "Freak out. You know, like…" She made a silly face and silly sounds, as she waved her hands.

The gargoyle beast mimicked her, but Penny said, "No, no! Don't do that!" The gargoyle beast did as he was told and Penny said, "That's the kind of stuff that makes them shoot at you."

* * *

Back in town, the chairmen of the council, Chief Wiggum, PC Mackintosh, and the mayor were gathered in an office with Crocker.

"Two nights ago," Crocker said, "at approximately 7:00 p.m., something was discovered attacking farm animals. Some assumed it was an experiment that escaped from a lab. But my office in Washington received a call from someone who reported an actual encounter with the object. This is no escaped lab experiment, gentlemen. This is something much more serious. So—"

* * *

Back in the forest, Penny continued pacing and said, "So, we can't call Ripley's Believe It or Not, because…well, they wouldn't believe it!" The gargoyle beast was beginning to nod off, but woke up, as Penny said, "And, uh…" But then Penny noticed how late it was getting and said, "Ooh, it's getting dark." She turned to the gargoyle beast and said, "And if I don't get home soon, Mom's gonna wonder where I am. And if she comes looking for me and sees you, then we got the screaming problem again. So, uh, for now, would you, you know, just…just stay here, okay? I promise I'll come back tomorrow."

The gargoyle beast got up and Penny said, "Well, good-bye." She began to walk away, but stopped when she heard the gargoyle beast following her. She stopped and turned to him, saying, "No, no. Me go. You stay. No following." When he didn't move, she said, "Good." She began to walk off again until she heard the gargoyle beast following her once more.

"Oh, for the love of—" she muttered, before she turned to him and said, not even bothering to hide her frustration, "Look, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: I'll come back tomorrow. Now, stay!" She walked off and, needless to say, the gargoyle beast continued following her, much to her annoyance, as she yelled, "NO, NO, NO! BAD GARGOYLE!"


	7. Chapter 6: Close Call

Thanks to **Skullgal94** and **Detective88** for reviewing!

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**Chapter 6: Close Call**

Moments later, the gargoyle beast was still following Penny through the forest.

"I see you back there," Penny said, without turning around. The gargoyle beast hid in a bush, trying to look inconspicuous, but Penny wasn't fazed, as she turned and said, as the gargoyle beast emerged, "Look, you can't go roaming around and you can't come home with me. My mom will freak out." When the gargoyle beast mimicked the crazy face Penny had made earlier, Penny said, "Yeah, that's right. So, you have to stay in the forest and I'll bring you some food tomorrow. But I've gotta go home now. So, good-bye."

She crossed the railroad tracks, before she glanced back and saw the gargoyle beast near the railroad tracks.

"Hey, wait a minute," Penny said, coming back, as the gargoyle beast bit the railroad track, ripping it up. "What do you think you're doing?" she said. She gestured at the railroad track, as she added, "Look at this mess."

Suddenly, the railroad cross signal went off and Penny looked down the tracks and muttered, "Oh no…" She ran back to the gargoyle beast and said, "Put it back! Put it back now!" She immediately began trying to push the railroad tracks back in place, as she said, "Don't just stand there! Help me! I need your help!"

The gargoyle beast put the tracks back on the ground and Penny said, "Good, good!" She looked down the tracks again and heard the train approaching, before she said, "Put them together! Like this." She gestured to one piece, as she said, "This one here," and gestured to another, "That one there." The gargoyle beast moved over and began working on lining up the first piece, as Penny said, "Okay, over, over. Good, good. Now, the other one!" The gargoyle beast then lined the other track up, as Penny said, "Okay, okay, that's good enough! Now, let's go!"

She began to sprint away, but turned and said, "What the-?" The train was approaching and the gargoyle beast was still trying to fix the other track. Penny rushed back, screaming, "That's fine! Now, leave it alone! The train is coming! The train is coming!" But the gargoyle beast was still trying to line the tracks up, as Penny screamed, "Come on, let's go!"

Once the tracks were lined up, the gargoyle beast looked up, just in time to see the train coming and Penny frantically tugged on his tail, making a mental note to apologize for that later, and the two tumbled down a hill, before they landed in a bush at the bottom of the hill.

Penny looked up at the hill and saw the train had stopped, before she sighed and said to the gargoyle beast, "That was close."

Suddenly, she heard the conductor call out, "Hello? Anybody out there?"

"Oh boy," Penny muttered, before she said to the gargoyle, "Alright, changed my mind. You can come home with me!" She ran off, telling him, "Let's go!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the mayor's office, the phone rang and Miss Hattie answered, saying, "Hello, mayor's office." A surprised look crossed her face, as she said, "What? Nearly had a train accident? Almost hit some sort of creature?" This caught Crocker's attention, along with everyone gathered in the office. "What kind of creature could be doing in the middle of—"

She was cut off as Crocker took the phone from her and listened to what was being said on the other line, before he said to one of the council members, "I need your car."

* * *

About a moment later, Crocker drove off in the car.

* * *

Meanwhile, once Penny and the gargoyle had arrived at her home, the gargoyle went into a nearby shed. Penny watched as he moved around in a circle before plopping down. She smiled until she saw a pair of headlights appear.

"Uh-oh, Mom's home," Penny said. She turned to the gargoyle and said, "Stay here, okay? I'll be back. Bye!"

She quickly closed the shed doors and the gargoyle beast waved, saying, "Bye."


	8. Chapter 7: Chaos in the Kitchen

Thanks to **Skullgal94** and **Detective88** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Chaos in the Kitchen**

Back at the railroad crossing, Crocker was busy interrogating the conductor and the engineer.

"What happened here?" Crocker asked.

"Go on and tell him what you saw, Oswald," Snoopy said.

"You're not gonna believe this," Oswald said, "but it was some sort of lizard-like creature!"

Crocker lit his pipe and said, "Does anyone know where I can get to a telephone nearby?"

Snoopy pointed at Penny's house.

* * *

Inside, Penny and Ariel were seated at the table for dinner.

"Would you say grace, please?" Ariel asked Penny.

Penny nodded and was about to do so when she just so happened to look behind Ariel and saw the gargoyle beast in the kitchen.

"Oh my God," Penny said, catching Ariel's attention. She then quickly covered up, while keeping an eye on the gargoyle, "Oh my God, we, uh, thank you for the…food that Mom has put in front of us and," the gargoyle was beginning to peer into a pot, until Penny yelled, "STOP!" making the gargoyle turn to her and her mother look at her in confusion, before Penny said, "The-the devil from doing bad things, and, uh…" She then made a gesture at the gargoyle, "GET OUTTA HERE!" She then said to her mother, "Satan?" She then went back to the gargoyle, "GO! GO!" The gargoyle quickly left just as Ariel looked behind her. "So that we may live in peace," Penny finished. "Amen."

"Amen," Ariel said, looking at her daughter in confusion. "That was…uh, really unusual, Penny."

"Could you excuse me for just a moment?" Penny said, before she quickly got up, as Ariel said, "Well…okay."

Penny ran into the kitchen and, hearing a sound from the living room, quickly ran in and found the gargoyle watching TV. Annoyed, she turned the TV off, grabbed his head and began leading him to the kitchen door like a baby elephant. She opened the door only to find Ariel in the kitchen grabbing something from the freezer.

"Stop, stop, stop," Penny whispered, shutting the door, before she led the gargoyle around the other way.

But then she stopped as her mother sat back down at the table. Quickly pushing the gargoyle beast back, she pulled a penny out of her pocket and tossed it at a shelf of spices, causing it to fall. Once Ariel went back into the kitchen to clean up the mess, Penny quickly pulled the gargoyle to the front door and opened it only to find Crocker.

"Hey there," Crocker said. "Denzel Crocker. I work for the government."

Penny slammed the door, but then found the gargoyle beast was gone.

"Penny?" Ariel called.

The doorbell rang and Penny sighed and opened the door again.

"Hey there," Crocker said. "Denzel Crocker. Work for the government. Your parents home?"

"Yes," Penny said, "as a matter of fact, we're eating."

Ariel walked to the door and asked, "Who's there, honey?"

"Well, hello there," Crocker said to Ariel. "Do you have a telephone I could use?"

"Yes, there's one in the kitchen," Ariel said.

"Thank you, thank you very much," Crocker said as Ariel walked back to the table. He put his hat on Penny's head and said, "Here. Pretend you're a gangster."

* * *

"Denzel Crocker," General W.R. Monger said, as he talked on the phone with Crocker, "you called me at home for this?"

Monger had gray hair, brown eyes, and wore a general's uniform.

"It tore up my car," Crocker said.

"And you saw this happen?" Monger said.

"No, I didn't actually see it," Crocker said. "It went off into the woods."

"So you don't have any evidence?"

"But, sir, I've got an eyewitness!"

Monger was busy watching an old Western movie, as he said, "An eyewitness who most likely has a concussion."

"This thing-this thing is a menace," Crocker said. "It attacked two kids in a park. It almost caused a train wreck!"

"What did?" asked Monger. "Tell me again, Crocker, and this time, listen to yourself."

Crocker sighed and said, "Some sort of lizard monster." Monger began laughing and Crocker noticed an oven mitt of a cow making a goofy face hanging from the side of a cupboard, before he said, as he turned the oven mitt so it was facing the cupboard, "Please, sir. I've got a feeling about this one."

"That's lovely, Denzel," Monger said. "But let me try to explain how this works. If you told me you'd found, say, a weirdly shaped footprint, I might send an expert to make a plaster cast of it. Hell, you get me a photograph and I could get some troops over there! But you tell me you've got a feeling?"

"Alright then, fine," Crocker said. "You want evidence? I'll get you evidence. And when I do, I'm gonna want a memo distributed."

"Yeah, that sounds swell," Monger said, beginning to hang up the phone, as Crocker began to rant about the memo, "I'll want that memo carbon-copied and redistributed—"

However, Crocker was cut off by the dial tone, as Monger hung up. He put the phone in the cradle, but it fell off. Crocker put it back, but it fell off again. He began to yell incoherently, as he slammed the phone into the cradle over and over again, catching Ariel and Penny's attention.

Once the phone was in its cradle and Crocker calmed down, he turned to Ariel and Penny and said, "Hello. Thanks for the use of your phone."

* * *

Moments later, Crocker was leaving, as he said to Ariel, "Well, thank you for the use of your phone, Mrs.-?"

"Miller," Ariel replied. "Ariel Miller. And this is my daughter, Penny."

"Thank you, Ariel," Crocker said. "Jenny."

"That's Penny!" Penny corrected him with a frown.

"Penny, Jenny," Crocker said, when he was in his car and driving off. "What difference does it make? They both sound the same and–" But then, he cut himself off as he realized something and looked at the flashlight on the passenger seat. "Pen," he said. "Pen! Penny! Penny Miller!" He immediately slammed on the brakes.

* * *

Back at the house, there was a knock at the door, Penny went to answer it, mumbling sarcastically, "I wonder who that could be, as if I didn't already know." She opened the door to see it was Crocker. He was about to speak, but Penny said, "Denzel Crocker. You work for the government."

"I wasn't going to say that," Crocker said, before he took out Penny's flashlight. "I have something for you, Penny."

He handed it to her and Ariel came up and said to Penny, "Your flashlight." She then asked Crocker, "Where did you find that?"

"Up at the park," Crocker said.

"Penny was out there the other night," Ariel said.

"Really?" Crocker said, before he asked Penny, "See anything unusual, Penny?"

"Nothing…unusual, really," Penny said. Suddenly, the three heard the sound of the toilet flushing upstairs and Penny said, "Gotta use the bathroom," before quickly heading away.

* * *

Once she headed upstairs, she opened the bathroom door to find the gargoyle beast unrolling a ream of toilet paper onto the ground.

"Strange," Ariel said to Crocker. "She's so tightlipped now. The other night she couldn't stop talking. Creatures that were about a foot long and whatnot."

"A foot-long creature?" Crocker said. "That's ridiculous! What else did she say?"

Suddenly, the two heard Penny yell, "No, wait, stop!"

"Excuse me," Ariel said, before she walked off.

* * *

Back upstairs, Penny was struggling to get the gargoyle out through the window, grunting.

"Penny?" Ariel said, as she knocked on the door. Crocker didn't notice the gargoyle beast near the window. "What's going on in there?" Crocker walked upstairs to join Ariel outside of the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Penny grunted out, as she struggled to push the gargoyle beast out.

"You know, this sort of thing is why it's so important to really chew your food," Crocker said.

Ariel turned and gave him a disgusted look.

Finally, Penny succeeded in pushing the gargoyle out the window.

"Penny?" Ariel said. Penny quickly unzipped her shorts, as Ariel said, "Penny?"

She opened the door and saw Penny on the toilet seat with her shorts and tights down.

"Mom, a little privacy?" Penny snapped.

"Sorry," Ariel apologized, before she quickly shut the door, briefly smashing Crocker's face with it, before he moved his head. "Sorry," Ariel apologized to Crocker. "Goodness, she's been acting strange lately."

* * *

Back in the bathroom, Penny pulled her pants and tights back up, before she looked out the window and watched as the gargoyle went back into the shed.

Crocker was leaving and said, "Thank you again, Ariel," as she and Penny went out onto the porch. "Good night, Penny," Crocker said, "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again. Real soon."


	9. Chapter 8: Getting Food

Thanks to **Detective88** and **Skullgal94** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Getting Food**

Later on, Penny headed into the shed and said to the gargoyle beast, "Look, if you're gonna stay here, you gotta be more careful. You almost got caught." She sighed, before she set a pile of books down and said, "Anyway, I thought you might like a little bedtime story or something. I've got some really cool ones right here. Also, I've come up with a name for you. I'm gonna call you Bronx after the hound of the Irish hero, Cuchulainn."

* * *

Moments later, Bronx was curled up by Penny's side, as she pointed out different books, "There's The Green Mile by Stephen King, very good read. Deliverance by James Dickey, pretty suspenseful. Howl's Moving Castle—eh." But then she grinned as she found a book and said, "Oh, here. This one's The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes. He started off just like you. Came out of nowhere, no one knew where he came from. In the end, Earth was endangered by a big space dragon and he saved the people of Earth by defeating the dragon, doing a good deed. And then there's Superman. Crash-landed on Earth, didn't know what he was doing. But he only used his powers for good instead of evil. You remember that now."

She set the book down and Bronx moved it to reveal another book with a picture of a weird creature on it.

"Huh?" She said, before she said, "Oh, that's Cloverfield. He's not a hero; he's a villain. But he's not like you. You're a good guy. Like Superman."

"Superman," Bronx echoed, before his stomach growled.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Penny said. "Can't get meat from the fridge, otherwise Mom will get suspicious. Come with me."

* * *

About a moment later, Penny and Bronx were trudging through the woods and Penny was getting exhausted, before Bronx set her on her back.

"Thanks, buddy," she said, petting him, as they continued on.

Suddenly, Bronx spotted the town.

"Oh yeah, that's Toonville," she said. "Pretty nice place, huh?"

"Toonville?" asked Bronx.

"Yeah," Penny said, "I was born right down there."

But then, she yelped in surprise as Bronx took off towards Town, causing her to fall off, as he yelled, "Toonville!"

Penny raced after Bronx, yelling, "No, no, wait!" before she got in front of Bronx and tried to stop him, as her feet dug in to the ground and she said, "Come on, no, not there! Please stop!" She then yelled at the top of her lungs, "_**STOP!**_"

Bronx did as he was told and Penny said, "You can't go there yet. People just aren't ready for you."

Bronx looked disappointed, before he and Penny turned and walked away.

* * *

They approached a billboard and Penny said, "Boy, that was close. Too close." She then said, "We can't go running around like that, okay?" But then, she spotted something and said, "Hey, look!" Bronx turned and saw a crate of food, as Penny said, "I guess that would be okay."

Bronx was about to until Penny looked down the road and saw a pair of headlights coming down the road and said, "Oh no." She turned to Bronx and said, "We gotta hide!" Bronx looked at her in confusion and she said, "It's when you-You know, when you-just get behind something, quick!"

The two hid in a bush and Penny whispered, "Don't move," as she and Bronx watched Once-ler get out, load the food into his truck, which Penny noticed was labeled 'Once-ler Food and Meat,' and then drive off, as Bronx looked dismayed. "Don't worry, pal," Penny said. "All our troubles are over."

* * *

A moment later, they had arrived in a forest with the sign from the Once-ler's truck. Bronx looked absolutely delighted.

"This is it," Penny said. "All you can eat."

Bronx grinned and began eating. All was going well until Bronx spotted a Swomee Swan and attacked it, causing it to squawk in fear. He began to chase the swan around.

"Bronx, no, don't chase the bird," Penny whisper-yelled.

Luckily, the chase stopped when the Swomee Swan flew up into a tree out of Bronx's reach. But that didn't stop the light from going on at the Once-ler's house.

"Aw no," Penny said, before she rushed over.

Once-ler emerged from his house, wielding a metal baseball bat, as he yelled, "Alright, who's out there?" But then, he stopped when he saw it was Penny, looking out of breath. "Hey, I know you," he said. "Squirrel Girl."

"Penny," she said.

"By night, known as Penny," Once-ler said. "Got it. Well, since you're here, come on inside. Sorry about the metal baseball bat." Penny shut the door and looked around the Once-ler's place in awe, as he said, "You'd be surprised how many people wanna steal food. I use most of it to turn it into art and I can't even bring myself to give it away sometimes. But what am I? A food vendor who sells art or an artist who sells food? You tell me."

"Well, I like it, I think," Penny said, looking at all the art pieces. "Listen, you're-you're not gonna call my mom, are you? She doesn't know I'm out."

"Don't worry, my friend," Once-ler said. "It's not my style to report someone like you to the authorities." As Once-ler walked away, Penny glanced out the window and saw Bronx, who waved to her, but she quickly rolled the window shade down.

Just then, a short orange creature with green eyes and a yellow mustache came out and said, "Hey, Beanpole, who's this?"

"This is Penny," Once-ler said. "Lorax, Penny. Penny, Lorax." He then said to Penny, "I'm gonna have some coffee. What do you want, Coca-Cola? Pepsi?"

"Coffee's fine," Penny said. Noticing Once-ler giving her a look, she said, "I drink it. I'm hip."

"I don't know," Once-ler said, as he pulled out some ground coffee. "This is espresso, you know? It's like Coffee-Zilla."

"Like I said," Penny said, "I'm hip."

* * *

About a moment later, Penny was talking a mile a minute, as she said to the Once-ler and the Lorax, "So she moved me up a grade. Now I'm even more not fitting in. I was getting all A's. My mom says, 'You need stimulation.' I go, 'No, I'm stimulated enough right now.'"

"Yeah, that's for sure," Once-ler whispered to the Lorax, who nodded in agreement.

"She goes, 'Uh-uh, you need a challenge,'" Penny went on. "So now, I'm challenged alright. I'm challenged to hold on to my lunch money because of the jerks who wanna pound me because they think I'm smarter than them! I don't think I'm smarter; I just do the homework. Heck, if everyone did, they could move up a grade and get their butts handed to them!" She then sat down and asked, "Is there anymore coffee?"

"Look, kiddo," Lorax said, "it's really none of our business, but who cares what those creeps think, you know?"

"Yeah," Once-ler said, "they don't decide who you are. You do. You are who you choose to be." Penny smiled, that is, until she, Once-ler, and Lorax heard a squeal from outside. "Did you hear that?" asked Once-ler.

"No, wait, stop," Penny yelled abruptly, but it was too late as the Once-ler and the Lorax headed outside to see what was there, as Once-ler grabbed the metal bat.

At first, he and the Lorax saw nothing, until the Lorax turned and yelled, "Holy Truffula fruit! What is that?"

The Once-ler turned and saw Bronx chasing a Barbaloot cub named Pipsqueak.

"It's okay!" Penny shouted, as Once-ler muttered, "My God."

"He's not gonna hurt—" Penny began, until Once-ler scooped her up and ran off with her, yelling, "Run, girl, run for your life!"

Bronx turned and, when he saw Once-ler carrying Penny off, lost interest in Pipsqueak and jumped over, blocking the Once-ler's path.

"Split up," Once-ler yelled to the Lorax, who didn't need a second invite, as he turned and ran to check on Pipsqueak, while Once-ler quickly ran back the way he and Penny had gone, as Penny cried, "It's alright, he isn't gonna hurt—"

Bronx jumped into the Once-ler's way again, causing the Once-ler to fall over and Penny said to the Once-ler, "It's alright, he's not gonna hurt me!" Bronx pounced on the Once-ler and Penny yelled, "Bronx, Bronx, don't hurt him!" Bronx, who had been growling menacingly at Once-ler, looked at Penny, as she said, "Don't hurt him. His name is Once-ler. We like Once-ler." She gestured to the Lorax, as she added, "Including the Lorax."

"Once-ler," Bronx said, as Once-ler cringed.

* * *

About a moment later, Once-ler's hand was shaking as it held his cup of coffee, as he asked, "So, where exactly did it come from?"

"He," Penny corrected him, as she, the Lorax, and Once-ler watched Bronx eating food. "He doesn't remember. He's like a little kid."

"Yeah, define 'little,'" the Lorax said.

But then, Once-ler said, "Wait a minute, you can talk to him?"

"Uh-huh," Penny said, "He can't say a lot of words yet, but he understands things pretty good."

"I see," Once-ler said, as the three continued watching Bronx.

"He needs food and shelter," Penny said.

"Well, if you're asking us to take him in," the Lorax said, "we'd be more than happy to. How bout it, Beanpole?"

Once-ler just looked at Penny and the Lorax for a moment, before he got up and dumped his coffee and walked back into his house, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

**37 minutes later…**

"You've got plenty of room here," Penny said, trying to convince the Once-ler to let Bronx stay, as the Lorax had facepalmed and was shaking his head. "Besides, this place is perfect."

"Go away," the Once-ler answered.

"If you want, I can have him push the door down," Penny said. "You know I can!"

Once-ler opened the door and said, "Penny, I can't hide it here."

"Him, not it," Penny said.

"Whatever," the Once-ler answered. "You don't even know where he came from. You probably don't even know what the hell he is!"

"Yes, I do," Penny answered. "He's a gargoyle beast and he's my friend."

"Yeah, what am I?" Once-ler said. "Am I your friend?" He walked over to his bed and said, "Bring some weird lizard-like creature, make me change my mind. God, I'm tired."

He collapsed onto the bed and Penny said, "So he can stay?"

"Tonight, tomorrow, I don't know," Once-ler said. "I don't even know about tomorrow."

Penny closed the door and turned to the Lorax, who said, "Don't worry, kid. We'll keep a close eye on him."

She sighed in relief and said, "Thank you," before she walked over to Bronx, who had fallen asleep, and said, "Sleep tight. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

A/n: Well, that's the end of Chapter 8. If you're wondering about the book, The Iron Giant, the movie was loosely based off that book, so I couldn't resist throwing in a reference.


	10. Chapter 9: Food, Animals, and Art

Thanks to **Energy witch**, **Skullgal94**, and **Detective88** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Food, Animals, and**** Art**

Later, Penny opened the window to her room and climbed in. With a yawn, she walked over to her bed, taking her coat off and kicking her shoes off. She was about to climb into bed when Ariel opened the door and came in.

"You're up already?" asked Ariel.

"Just making the bed," Penny said, setting the blanket down and smoothing out the wrinkles.

"That's nice," Ariel said. "Come downstairs. I have a surprise for you."

After Penny changed into some fresh clothes, she walked downstairs to the dining room, only to gape in surprise when she saw who was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," Crocker said, lowering the newspaper. "Sleep well?"

"Mom," Penny said.

Ariel set down a plate of breakfast for Penny, as she said, "Isn't it wonderful, Penny? We finally rented our room."

_No, it is not wonderful,_ Penny thought, before she said with a hint of anger in her voice, "Suddenly, I'm not very hungry."

She then walked out of the dining room.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Once-ler was making some hot cocoa and opened the door to find Bronx.

"Oh…yeah," Once-ler said.

_I'd almost forgotten all about that,_ he thought.

* * *

Back at Penny's house, the phone rang and Penny answered it.

"Hello, this is Penny Miller speaking," she said. "Who's calling?"

"I said he could stay the night, Penny," Once-ler said in annoyance. "But it's morning now!"

"Look," Penny said, "I'll try and get there as soon as I can. But there's this weird guy here who's watching me!"

"What-What-What's that supposed to mean?" Once-ler yelled, just as Crocker opened the door to the kitchen. "I've got this big thing out here!"

"I can't talk right now, okay?" Penny said. "Bye!" before she hung up.

"Who was that?" Crocker asked her. "A friend of yours?"

"Yeah, he's new," Penny said.

* * *

Back at the Once-ler's place, he sputtered in disbelief as he looked at the phone, before he looked outside and saw Bronx getting at his art.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Once-ler yelled. "Stop! Stop that!" He began running to the door as he shouted, "Stop it!"

But then he tripped over a chair and landed on the ground with it, looking completely agitated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Penny walked down the stairs where Crocker was waiting, as he said, "Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Later, Penny was passing Crocker, who was writing something, as he said, "Now why would you tell your mom about a big creature?" Later, Penny was getting a bottle of Coca-Cola out of the fridge and closed it, only to discover Crocker standing by the fridge as he asked, "What'd you see at the park?" Later, Crocker appeared around the corner, asking, "Tell anyone else?" Penny was having some cereal when she looked up and saw Crocker, as he asked, "How big is this thing?"

Later, Penny closed the cabinet in the bathroom, only to jump when the mirror reflected Crocker standing behind her, as he asked, "Been in the forest lately?" He was starting to get on Penny's last nerve, as he said, "Hey, where you going? Where you going?"

"_**I'M GOING OUT!**_" Penny yelled in annoyance.

She was putting her coat on and heading out when Ariel said, "Why don't you take Mr. Crocker with you? Show him the sights?"

"Aw, Mom," Penny complained, "the sights?"

"I'd love that," Crocker said. "Give us a chance to get acquainted, swap stories."

* * *

Back with the Once-ler, he and the Lorax looked annoyed, as Once-ler said, "Alright, there are three kinds of food here. Food, art, and animals." Once-ler gestured to each of them. "If you gotta eat one of them, eat the food. What you currently have **IN YOUR MOUTH **_**IS ART!**_"

"_**AND WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TERRORIZING SINCE LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING ARE ANIMALS!**_" Lorax yelled.

Bronx took the art he had been eating out of his mouth and said, "Art?"

Once-ler gave him a look and Bronx set to work on fixing it.

"No, forget it," Once-ler said. "Forget it. It's gone. It's—" But then, he turned around and saw the piece of art looking even better than before. "Not half bad," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the ice cream shop, Penny said, "First, you take a chocolate bar. Any bar will do. Do you mind if I-?"

"No, knock yourself out," Crocker said.

Penny took his sundae and said, "You crumble up the chocolate into little pieces." She sprinkled the chocolate pieces in and stirred it a little, as she said, "Then you kind of stir it in. See?"

"I see," Crocker said, taking his sundae. "What do you call this again?"

"Landslide," Penny said. "It's new. Very new."

As she'd said that, she put the chocolate wrapper in the can, revealing that it was a chocolate laxative.

"Landslide," Crocker said. "Topnotch." As Penny sprinkled regular chocolate into her sundae, he said, as he ate his sundae, "You know, Penny, we live in a strange and wondrous time. The Atomic Age. But there's a dark side to progress. Ever hear of failed lab experiments?"

"What? The types that show up in science fiction?" Penny said.

"Not just in science fiction, Penny," Crocker said, "and all that that implies. Even now, they could be anywhere, watching us. We can't see them, but they're there. Much like that thing in the woods. We don't know what it is or what it can do. I don't feel safe, Penny. Do you?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Penny in confusion.

"What am I talking about?" Crocker said. "WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?" This drew everyone's attention. "**I'M TALKING ABOUT YOUR POOR SECURITY, PENNY! **While you're snoozing in your pajamas, back in Washington, we're wide awake and worried. Why?"

Penny nervously started to back away, as Crocker advanced on her and continued, "Because everyone wants what we have! Everyone! You think this creature is fun. But who made it? The Chinese? Martians? Canadians? I don't care! All I know is we didn't make it and that's reason enough to assume the worst and blow it to kingdom come! Now you'll tell me about this thing. You're gonna lead me to it. And we are going to destroy it before it destroys us!" Suddenly, Crocker paused and said, "Hold that thought and stay right there."

He quickly headed into the bathroom, but Penny had already left.

* * *

Later, Penny arrived at the Once-ler's place, but then said, "Hey, I thought you were in trouble."

Once-ler was directing Bronx in making art, while the Lorax, the Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, and Humming Fish were gathered around watching.

"I had to ditch this weird guy who's staying at our house," Penny said. "It took me hours to shake him! I kill myself to get out here and you have him doing arts and crafts!"

"You got a problem with arts and crafts?" Once-ler asked her.

"He's a gargoyle beast, Once-ler," Penny said, as Pipsqueak tugged on her tights leg and she leaned down and picked him up. "It's a little undignified."

"Well, smart girl, what would you have him do?" The Lorax asked her.

* * *

Later, Penny and a few of the animals, including Pipsqueak, were having fun riding in a makeshift sleigh with Bronx pulling it as fast as he could.

"Alright, Bronx, whoa," Penny yelled, "that's enough!"

Bronx stopped and the animals stumbled out and almost collapsed on top of each other.

Penny sighed and Bronx did the same.

"Hey, could you guys cool yourselves a little?" Once-ler said, as he and the Lorax came over. "I feel like we're pressing our luck here."

"Hey, we're cool," Penny said. "Welcome to downtown Coolsville. Population: Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, Humming Fish, and most importantly, us."

"Uh-huh," the Lorax said, "well, can you move 'Coolsville' to some place less conspicuous?"

"How about the lake?" Penny suggested.

The Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, and Humming Fish turned to the Lorax and gave him puppy dog eyes.

"Well...okay," the Lorax said.

At this, the Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, and Humming Fish cheered, and hurried over to Penny, who got onto Bronx's back and Pipsqueak joined her, before she turned to the Once-ler and the Lorax and said, "Come with us. It'll be fun."

Bronx pointed at his back, gesturing for the Once-ler and the Lorax to get on and come with them. The two glanced at each other.

* * *

Meanwhile, Crocker was jotting notes down as Spongebob explained to Mr. Crocker what had happened last night, as he gestured to a few traumatized animals and pointed out tracks, obviously belonging to Bronx. Crocker continued jotting down notes until he stopped, realizing he needed to go to the bathroom again, and Spongebob gestured to an outhouse.

Out in the forest, Crocker investigated the area, before he found a knife stained with blood and examined it and then looked at the area leading to the park, before he realized he had to go to the bathroom again.

A moment later, Crocker came out from behind a bush, zipping up his pants and wafting the smell away from his nose, as he walked away, before he bumped into something. It was the camera Penny had been intending to use yesterday in order to get a picture of Bronx. He examined it and found the name Miller on it.


	11. Chapter 10: Fun at the Lake

Thanks to **Detective88** and **Energy witch** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Fun at the Lake**

Moments later, Penny, who was in her swimsuit, Bronx, Once-ler, the Lorax, and the Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, and Humming Fish were at the lake.

"This can't last forever, Penny," Once-ler said, as he set up a beach chair for himself.

"Yeah," the Lorax said, "we gotta tell someone about him sooner or later."

"Eh, you guys worry too much," Penny said. She then ran up onto a rock and Pipsqueak and the Humming Fish followed her, before she turned and said, "Hey, Oncie! Watch this!"

"Alright, we're watching, we're watching," Once-ler said, as he sat down in the chair with a thermos and a newspaper. "And don't call me Oncie."

"This one's for professionals only," Penny declared, before she ran on the rock and jumped off in a cannonball position, yelling, "Banzai!"

She landed in the water and Pipsqueak imitated Penny while the Humming Fish either mimicked her cannonballing into the water, pencil dived, belly flopped, or just dove into the water. Bronx looked at Penny curiously, before she surfaced with Pipsqueak and the Humming Fish, shivering.

"Come on in," Penny called to the Barbaloots, Swomee Swans, Once-ler, and the Lorax. "The-the-the water's g-g-great!"

The Barbaloots and Swomee Swans shook their heads, while Once-ler said, "Yeah, no thanks."

"I'm good, kiddo," the Lorax said.

"You weenies!" Penny said, waving her hand at them, before she turned to Bronx. "Come on in! It's really, really refreshing!" Bronx just stared at her, before he turned and walked away. "What?" Penny said in disbelief. "You too? You big baby!"

But then she, Pipsqueak, and the Humming Fish heard running footsteps and watched as Bronx leapt into the air in a cannonball position, yelling, "Banzai!"

Once-ler went back to reading the paper, while Penny, Pipsqueak, and the Humming Fish watched open-mouthed as Bronx flew over them and landed in the water, causing a big wave.

"Dun-dun-dunnnnnn," three Humming Fish hummed.

"Swim away, swim away!" Penny shouted, as she, Pipsqueak, and the Humming Fish began swimming away.

The Lorax gasped and then shouted, "Get to higher ground!" as he and the Barbaloots and Swomee Swans ran away to get up into trees.

Wondering what all the commotion was, the Once-ler looked up from the newspaper just in time to see the big wave coming toward him. He gaped in shock, before he quickly buried his face behind the newspaper with the headline, 'Disaster Seen as Catastrophe Looms.'

Suddenly, the area near the lake was flooded, as a bunch of normal fish swam by and a raccoon named Meeko could be seen trying to swim away. Once-ler was clinging to the armrests on his chair, as he was swept through, before his chair landed on the road as the water receded.

* * *

Back near the lake, the lake was half-empty, as Bronx looked around for Penny, until he heard her laughing and saw her holding onto a pine tree with Pipsqueak clinging to her waist and the Humming Fish holding onto branches on the pine tree, as Penny laughed and yelled, "Whoo!"

Around the lake, the Barbaloots and Swomee Swans were in trees, holding onto branches. And in one tree, a soaking wet Lorax was holding onto a branch with one hand while the other held onto a Barbaloot cub, who was holding onto another Barbaloot cub.

Three Barbaloots who were safely on a tree, not holding onto a branch, held up score cards, labeled '10,' '10,' and '9.'

* * *

Back on the road, the Once-ler was still sitting in his chair when a truck full of pigs drove up and stopped.

"Hey!" The driver yelled at the Once-ler.

"Yeah?" the Once-ler said, without looking behind him.

"You're right in the middle of the road!" The driver said.

"YEAH?" The Once-ler snapped, glaring at the driver as if to say, 'What are _you_ gonna do about it?'

The driver looked at Once-ler for a moment, before he shrugged and said, "Alright," and drove off.

"I think that's enough _fun_ for one day," the Once-ler said.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Penny's house, Crocker had set up the bathroom as a dark room with various pictures developed. It was when Crocker was developing another picture that something appeared on it.

Just then, Ariel knocked on the door and called out, "Are you alright in there, Mr. Crocker? I'm back with the toilet paper you needed!"

"Thanks," Crocker said. "I think I'm feeling better now." He smirked, as he added, "Much better."

The latest picture that had been developed was Penny taking a picture of herself…with Bronx standing right behind her.


	12. Chapter 11: Souls Don't Die

Thanks to **Skullgal94** and **Detective88** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Souls Don't Die**

Later, Penny and Bronx were walking through the woods, as Bronx stopped and sighed.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Penny said, before she turned and said, "Hey, look!" In a nearby clearing, a buck was grazing and Penny whispered, "It's a deer."

"Deer?" Bronx said.

Penny shushed him and whispered, "Let's get closer."

The pair snuck towards the clearing. The buck stopped grazing when he realized he was being watched, before he looked up and saw Penny and Bronx. The deer stared curiously at him, before the two came up to each other and sniffed each other curiously, before the deer turned, hearing a sound, before he turned and left.

"Hmm," Penny said, "well, I guess he decided to—"

Suddenly, she was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Bronx looked around.

Nearby, two hunters, Victor Quartermaine and Clayton, were examining their kill when they heard a sound and turned and saw Bronx.

"It's the monster," Victor said, before he and Clayton dropped their guns and fled.

"Oh no," Penny said sadly when she saw the dead buck. Bronx nudged the buck, but it didn't move. He looked at Penny for an explanation and she said, "It's dead."

"Dead?" Bronx said.

He attempted to make the deer stand up, but Penny said, "Don't do that!"

He drew his hand away and asked Penny, "Why?"

"It's dead," Penny said. "Understand? They shot it with that gun."

Bronx looked at the gun, before his mind seemed to turn blank and this didn't escape Penny's notice.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked and Bronx snapped out of it.

"Gun," he said.

Penny nodded sadly, as she said, "That's right. Guns kill."

"Guns kill," Bronx repeated.

* * *

Later that night, Bronx was settled down, playing with a pull-tab on a can. Seeing what he was doing, Penny sat down beside him and petted him.

"I know you feel bad about the deer," Penny said. "But it's not your fault. Things die. It's part of life. It's bad to kill. But it's not bad to die."

"You die?" Bronx asked her.

"Well, yes," Penny said, "someday."

"I die?"

"I think so," Penny said. "But you have feelings. And you think about things. And that means you have a soul. And souls don't die."

"Souls?"

"Mom says that it's something inside of all good things," Penny said, "that it goes on forever and ever."

She petted Bronx again, before she left.

"Souls don't die," Bronx said.


	13. Chapter 12: Found Out

**Chapter 12: Found Out**

Penny arrived back at home and rode toward the shed. She opened the door and walked her bike in and parked it by a support.

"You're late for dinner, Penny."

Penny gasped. It was Crocker! Immediately, she ran to the door, but Crocker beat her there and shut the door.

Crocker latched the door shut and said, "You're mom's working late tonight, Penny, so it's just us two. And we're gonna have a little chat. Sit down!" He shoved Penny into a chair and turned on a bright light, revealing she was sitting at a table. "How's that?" He asked her, as she cringed. "A little too bright? Good." She glared at him, as he said, "Forgive me, Penny. I wanted you to learn something."

"Oh, really?" Penny scoffed. "What can I learn from you?"

Crocker appeared beside her, as he said, "You can learn this, Penny. That I can do anything I want whenever I want if I feel it's in the people's best interest. The creature, where is it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Penny replied.

"You don't?" Crocker said. "Well, does this ring a bell?" He placed a picture of the strip of meat on the table in front of Penny. "No? How about this?" He placed the picture of Penny with Bronx standing behind her in front of her. Penny's eyes widened, realizing she was found out, as Crocker said, "You've been careless, Penny."

"It doesn't prove anything," Penny snapped.

"It's enough to get the army here with one phone call," Crocker said.

"Oh yeah?" Penny said. "Then enlighten me: what's stopping you?"

"Where's the beast?" Crocker yelled at her. "You can't protect him, Penny. Anymore than you can…protect your mother."

"My mom?" Penny said.

"It's difficult to raise a young girl all alone," Crocker said. "We can make it more difficult. In fact, we can make it so difficult that it would be irresponsible to leave you in her care, and all that that implies."

"You wouldn't," Penny said with a scared look.

"You'll be taken away from her, Penny," Crocker said.

"You can't do that!" Penny said.

"Oh, we can," Crocker said, smugly, "and we will."

Penny realized she had no other choice.

"Alright," she said, hanging her head in defeat, "he's at Once-ler Food Products, off Culver Road."

"The Once-ler's place, of course!" Crocker said. "Food for the creature." Crocker walked away from the table, as he said, "I wouldn't worry about this, Penny. It isn't really happening. This is only a bad dream."

Penny turned around, only to shriek in surprise as Crocker covered her mouth with a chloroform cloth, knocking her out.

* * *

Moments later, Penny woke up in her bed when she heard Crocker talking on the phone outside of her room.

"Yes, sir," he was saying. "This thing is real, sir. I not only have incontrovertible evidence, I know where it's hidden. I don't know who made it, but it's big and we're running out of time." Penny snuck to the door, as she listened to Crocker. "There's no doubt we should act. The question is can you afford not to? Excellent, sir. You won't regret it. Thank you, sir."

Thinking it was safe, Penny snuck out, only to bump into Crocker.

"The army arrives in the morning, Penny," Crocker said. "Don't get cute."

Penny glared defiantly at him as she went back into her room and then shut the door.

"I gotta warn the Once-ler," Penny said to herself, before she quickly went over to her window and tried to open it, only to find it was nailed shut.

Crocker opened the door and Penny glowered at him, as he said, "I'll be watching you," as he backed into his room and sat down on his bed.

Penny frowned, as she walked over to her bed and sat down in it, without taking her eyes off of Crocker. She put a helmet on her head and continued to glare at him. Time passed as the stare down between Penny and Crocker continued. Later, Crocker was starting to get tired and Penny had already fallen asleep and turned over onto her side. Crocker smirked, as he glanced at his watch.

* * *

A few hours later, however, Crocker had fallen asleep, before he woke up and continued watching Penny closely.

But then, Penny passed by, saying, "Morning, Crockpot."

Crocker gaped in shock, before he went into Penny's bedroom and threw the covers back to discover a couple pillows.

Ariel came in and said, "For some reason, the army is in our front yard, Mr. Crocker. Care to explain?"

"Please, call me Denzel," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Once-ler stood outside of his house and stretched and walked out, before he, the Lorax, the Barbaloots, the Swomee Swans, and the Humming Fish saw a dust cloud approaching.

The Once-ler seemed to know what it was, as he took a sip of his coffee, "Oh, okay."

A group of army trucks, one with Penny and Ariel inside, were driving to the Once-ler's place, with a jeep containing Crocker, General Monger, and a soldier in the lead. Once they were all parked in place, Crocker got out.

"Alright, where is it?" Crocker asked the Once-ler.

"What?" Once-ler said.

"You know what," Crocker said. "The monster! The creature. The beast!"

"Ah, the beast," Once-ler said in understanding. "You scared me there for a second. I thought I was under attack or something. He's in the back. Come on, I'll show you."

Crocker followed and Monger gestured for his troops to follow.

Outside of an empty warehouse, Once-ler skimmed through his keys, as he said to everyone gathered behind him, "You guys got here just in time. This rich guy, some industrialist, wants him for the lobby of his company. He practically whipped out his checkbook right on the spot. I said, 'Hey, you got him for the rest of your life. But, what, I gotta let go the moment I give birth? I mean, come on. Give me some time to cut the umbilical.'"

Once-ler unlocked the door and gestured inside, as he said, "Here he is." Crocker went in, only to gape in dismay when he saw a sculpture, obviously Bronx, covered in various items. "Anyway, I haven't sold him yet," Once-ler said. "So if you really want him and if, you know, you throw in a competitive bid."

"Sir, listen," Crocker said, as Monger glared at him.

"Step outside, Crocker," Monger said.

"Yes sir," Crocker answered.

* * *

About a moment later, Penny, the Barbaloots, the Swomee Swans, and the Humming Fish were gathered at a window above the door, listening to Monger yelling at Crocker, as Penny and Pipsqueak were giggling.

"_**YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH HARDWARE I BROUGHT OUT HERE?**_" Monger was screaming at Crocker. "_**YOU JUST BLEW MILLIONS OF UNCLE SAM'S DOLLARS OUT OF YOUR BUTT!**_"

* * *

Meanwhile, Ariel and Once-ler were talking.

"I gotta admit," Ariel told him, "I'm relieved this this is what Penny was talking about." The two began to walk to the door, as Ariel continued, "I mean, I was beginning to think it was real. I mean, don't-don't get me wrong. I like it. But, uh, do you really need all this stuff on the surface?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Once-ler said, "no, actually."

"Well, it just seems kind of slapped on," Ariel said, before looking at another piece. "You know, it's not as well thought out as this other piece."

"You like that one?" Once-ler asked her.

"Yeah," Ariel said, before they both walked to the door.

* * *

Back outside, Monger was finished yelling at Crocker, as he got into the jeep and said, "You'll be chief inspector of subway toilets by the time I'm finished with you! Now, pack up. I'll expect you back in Washington to clear out your office."

The jeep drove off, as Crocker said, "Yes, sir."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Ariel and Once-ler walked out, she said, "I can see why Penny sneaks out here."

"Oh, you know about that?" Once-ler asked her.

Ariel smirked, as she told him, "Now I do."

As Once-ler walked off, Ariel took one last look at the "sculpture," before she closed the door and got into the truck, where a dismayed Crocker was sitting in the back, as Once-ler helped her in.

The trucks drove off and Penny said with a smirk, "Bye, Crockpot, and all that that implies."

"Okay, buddy, you can move now," the Lorax said to Bronx, who then moved.

"Nice job," the Once-ler told Bronx, as Bronx brushed off the stuff he was covered in.


	14. Chapter 13: Incident

Thanks to **Skullgal94** and **Detective88** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Incident**

Moments later, Penny peeked out of a bush, holding a toy hammer, as she said, "Thruster to base. I'm going in." Penny snuck through, as she said, "Only one creature could create so much destruction. The hideous people-eating killing monster, Cloverfield!" Bronx didn't respond, as he twiddled his fingers. "Uh, hello, Cloverfield?" Penny said.

"No Cloverfield," Bronx answered, before he took a bush and fashioned it into a letter with the S and put it on his chest. "I Superman."

Penny smirked and said, "Fair enough, Superman," before she turned a switch on the toy hammer and it lit up, as she aimed her hammer and said, "Take this!"

Seeing the hammer, Bronx's mind suddenly went blank, something that didn't escape Pipsqueak and the Lorax's attention.

"Uh-oh," the Lorax said, before he and Pipsqueak ran off to find the Once-ler.

The light on Penny's hammer went out.

"Stupid hammer," Penny muttered, before she hid behind a bush and began trying to get it to work again.

But, as she did, she failed to notice Bronx leap above her.

Meanwhile, Pipsqueak and the Lorax were trying to get the Once-ler's attention, as he was busy working on something, before he stopped and said, "Alright, guys, whatever this is had better be—"

But then he cut himself off and stared in shock, as Bronx slashed at a tree. Bronx snapped out of it and pulled his claw out of the tree. Once Penny had fixed her hammer, she got out to face Bronx.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Penny asked, noticing the look on Bronx's face. Bronx shrugged and Penny said, "Now, as I was saying, take this!"

She lit up the hammer again and Bronx's mind went blank. Penny turned off the hammer and stared in terror, as she saw Bronx about to pounce.

Just as he did, however, a group of big Barbaloots quickly ran over and pulled Penny out of the way, as Bronx's claw snagged her right arm. They quickly carried her over to a bush where the Once-ler, the Lorax, Pipsqueak, the Swomee Swans, the Humming Fish, and the other Barbaloots were hiding.

"Good work, boys," the Lorax said, as the Barbaloots set a confused Penny down, before he asked Penny, "You okay? You alright?"

Penny nodded, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I'm think I'm—" Suddenly, she grabbed her arm in pain and cried, "Ow!" She let go of her arm. There were five slashes on her arm and her hand was covered in blood. Penny looked even more confused, before she looked at the Once-ler and the Lorax and asked, "What happened? What did—"

Once-ler covered her mouth and shushed her, saying, "We'll tell you later, but right now, just stay down and follow us."

_What's going on?_ Penny thought, as she looked concerned, but nodded and Once-ler uncovered her mouth.

Bronx snapped out of it and looked puzzled when he saw Penny nowhere in sight.

The Once-ler, the Lorax, and the animals quickly led Penny over to another bush and hid there, as Once-ler shushed her again, until Bronx found them. Almost instantly, the Barbaloots, the Humming Fish, and the Swomee Swans formed a protective circle around Penny and glared at Bronx, the Barbaloots growling like dogs and baring their teeth, while the Once-ler and the Lorax took a protective stance in front of Penny.

"_**GET BACK!**_" The Lorax yelled angrily at Bronx, much to the poor gargoyle's confusion. "_**I SAID GET BACK! I MEAN IT!**_"

The Once-ler, the Lorax, and the animals continued to shield Penny from Bronx, as they backed away and Bronx said sadly, "No, stop. Why?"

"It was only an accident," Penny said to the Once-ler and the Lorax. "He's our friend."

"He's a beast, Penny," Once-ler said, keeping Penny behind him. "Why do you think the army was here? He's nothing but a monster! A-A mindless savage creature that-that won't even hesitate to kill!"

He, the Lorax, and the animals then continued backing away, still shielding Penny.

"I-I-I not monster," Bronx said.

"Oh, really?" The Lorax said sarcastically, before he grabbed Penny's arm, the one that was wounded, yanked the sleeve up, revealing her wound, and pointed at it, as he asked angrily, "How do ya explain this then?"

Bronx looked shocked when he saw the scratches on Penny's arm, as the Once-ler added angrily, "You almost killed her!"

Bronx sadly backed away, saying, "No…" before he turned and ran off.

Penny shoved the Barbaloots and Swomee Swans aside and stepped over the Humming Fish, as she yelled, "Come back!"

"Penny. Hey, stop!" Once-ler yelled, as Penny chased after Bronx.

"Bronx, come back!" Penny shouted.

It was then that the Once-ler noticed Pipsqueak trying to lift Penny's toy hammer up.

"What have you got there, Pipsqueak?" Once-ler said, before he took the hammer from Pipsqueak. All in an instant, realization dawned on him, as he said, "Wait a minute. He was being defensive. He only reacted to the toy hammer."

* * *

Penny ran down the road, trying to find Bronx, until Once-ler drove up on a motorcycle and blocked her path.

"You're not gonna get there fast enough on foot," he told her.

Penny smiled and got on.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bronx sadly trudged through the snow, the realization that he had almost killed Penny gnawing away at him. He glanced back sadly, before he continued trudging off, revealing the S sign lying on the ground.


	15. Chapter 14: Discovered

Thanks to **Skullgal94** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 14: Discovered**

Meanwhile, in town, Ted and his girlfriend, Audrey, were up on the roof, watching the army leave.

"See, Audrey?" Ted said, watching through the binoculars. "What did I tell you? Nothing but a big hoax. Grandma said—"

Suddenly, Audrey gasped and said, "Ted, gimme those binoculars!"

Ted came over and said, "What?"

Audrey took the binoculars from him and said, "Hey, there it is! I see it!" What Audrey had seen was Bronx walking away. "It's big. It's walking away!"

"Let me see," Ted said, taking the binoculars from her.

"Over there," Audrey said, pointing in the direction she had seen Bronx. "See it? See it?"

"It's the monster! Holy cow!" Ted exclaimed.

Suddenly, the railing broke and Ted and Audrey screamed as they fell, until the binoculars snagged on a pole, as Ted and Audrey dangled above the ground with Ted holding onto the binoculars and Audrey hanging onto his feet.

"Help!" Audrey shrieked. "Somebody!"

Her screams caught Bronx's attention.

"Somebody help me," Audrey screamed. "I don't wanna fall!"

A group of townspeople gathered and Ariel looked out, wondering what all the commotion was.

"Help! I'm slipping!" Ted screamed. "I can't hold on much longer!"

Suddenly, the townspeople heard running footsteps and turned to see Bronx leap over them. Just as the pole snapped and Ted and Audrey began to fall, Bronx caught them. He set them down and Ted and Audrey ran over to their parents, as Ted's mom and grandma hugged Ted and Audrey's parents hugged her. The townspeople stared at Bronx, unsure of what to make of him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Penny and Once-ler drove past the army trucks toward Town, passing Crocker driving in another car. Crocker watched them go, before he glanced out his window and saw Bronx below. He turned back, but then froze and glanced back out the window again to see that Bronx was in fact there. He gaped in shock, before he rammed the back of a truck and the soldiers glared at him, before a truck rammed the back of Crocker's car.

Crocker got out stammering and babbling incoherently, before he yelled, "Stop! Look! Look behind you!" All the soldiers glanced out, as Crocker yelled, "Look behind you! The beast, it's attacking! It's attacking the town! I was right!"

Monger turned and, when he saw the gargoyle beast, said, "Sweet mother of God," as Crocker yelled, "Look, damn you!"

* * *

Penny and the Once-ler arrived in town, as Penny ran up to Bronx and stopped a few feet away from him.

"I am not a monster," he said.

Penny smiled and then knelt down beside Bronx and hugged him. At that moment, Ariel ran up and stood beside the Once-ler.

"Hey, Mom," Penny said, as she waved to her mother.

Ariel gaped in shock, then turned to the Once-ler, who just smiled sheepishly. Suddenly, a gun was fired and a bullet hit Bronx's tail.

It was the army!

"Let's get out of here," Penny yelled. "Run!"

She mounted Bronx and he turned and ran away, avoiding being shot at, including by Monger. As the army went after the gargoyle beast, Once-ler drove up on his motorcycle and blocked their way.

"Hey, stop!" He shouted. "There's a kid with him! Stop shooting him!" Crocker walked over, as the Once-ler said, "Crocker, he only reacts defensively. As long as you don't shoot, he's harmless! You gotta tell the general!"

"This is all your fault, pal," Crocker said. "If you—"

"Would you just shut up and listen?" Once-ler said. "You've gotta make them stop! The gargoyle's got the kid with him."

"I'll take care of it," Crocker said and the Once-ler rode off. However Crocker said to Monger, "He says the monster's killed a kid. Sir, we must stop it at all costs."

"Go to code red," Monger said into his walkie-talkie. "Repeat, code red!"

* * *

In Washington, D.C., two officers walked into the president's office.

"Mr. President, we have a situation, sir," the officer said.

* * *

About a moment later, three fighter planes took off.

* * *

Back in Toonville, Ariel started up her car and drove off, as the planes flew over her and Bronx, who was way ahead of her.

"Look out for the bus," Penny yelled and Bronx leapt out of the way and started sliding down a hill, until he used his claws to grab onto the ground and then turned and ran the other way, passing Ariel, as she cried, "Penny!"

Bronx ran up onto a big hill, as the three planes chased and shot at him.

He shielded Penny and was about to attack the planes, but he shook his head and said, "No, no."

He turned the other way quickly and ran off.

"I've lost visual," the pilot said. "Repeat, lost visual."

"Boy," Penny said to Bronx, "that was close."

However, she'd spoken too soon. A plane gun shot at Bronx, causing him and Penny to fall to the ground.

Ariel saw this and screamed, "No!"

From afar, Crocker watched through the binoculars and said, "Gotcha!"

As Penny and Bronx fell, Bronx grabbed her and held onto her, before crash landing roughly on the ground and getting knocked out cold.

"Good call, Crocker," Monger said, lowering the binoculars. He then ordered a soldier, "Secure the area! Let's find out what that thing is and where it came from."

* * *

Back with Bronx, he came around, only to find he wasn't holding Penny. He sat up, but then found Penny lying motionless on the ground a short distance away from him. Bronx gasped and went over to Penny and nudged her, but she didn't respond. Believing her to be dead, Bronx whimpered sadly.

At that moment, the army drove up.

"It's still alive!" The soldier screamed.

"**SHOOT AT IT!**" Crocker shouted.

As they did, something inside of Bronx snapped. They did this. They killed Penny. With a furious roar, he turned around and struck a car, sending it flying away, as Crocker and Monger gaped in shock. He then sliced a tank, causing it to fall apart.

The soldiers, realizing that this was the signal to run for the hills, immediately turned and drove away, as someone yelled, "Retreat! Retreat!"

Bronx chased after them, as Crocker yelled, "Let's get outta here!"

As the army fled with Bronx in close pursuit, Ariel and the Once-ler drove up to Penny's lifeless form and parked their vehicles.

"Penny!" Ariel cried, as she got out of her car and ran over to Penny, cradling her, as Once-ler got off of his bike.

"She's unconscious," Once-ler told her, "but she's okay. Let's get her in the car."

* * *

Meanwhile…

"**DRIVE, DAMN YOU, DRIVE!**" Crocker screamed at the driver, as Bronx chased after them. "**STEP ON IT! FLOOR IT! IT'S GAINING ON US! FASTER, FASTER, FASTER! **_**HURRY!**_"

Once they had gotten into a secluded area, Monger said into his walkie-talkie, "All battleships fire at the beast! Now! Now, damn it, now!" The battleships fired, but missed, as Bronx then turned and went in the direction the battleships were firing. "Nothing can stop it!" Monger yelled at Crocker. "We've hit it with everything we've got!"

"Not everything, General," Crocker said. "The bomb. The _Nautilus_ isn't too far offshore."

"You scare me, Crocker," Monger said. "You want us to bomb ourselves in order to kill it?"

"General, the beast seems to follow whatever attacks it," Crocker said. "We can lure it away from the town, then destroy it."

Monger stared at Crocker, before he said to a soldier, "Radio the _Nautilus._ Tell them to target the creature and await my command."

* * *

In the _Nautilus,_ the speaker said, "This is the _Nautilus._ What is the beast's current position?"

Preparations to fire at Bronx began, as the coordinates were relayed, "67.71972 degrees west by 44.50177 degrees north."

"Locked and loaded," the soldier said to the captain.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Once-ler was driving while Ariel sat in the passenger seat, holding Penny.

"Oh, my baby, I'm so sorry," Ariel said, just as Penny came around and said, "Stop the car."

"Honey, you're alright," Ariel said.

"Go back!" Penny yelled at the Once-ler, as she sat up. "We gotta help Bronx!"

"Are you crazy, Penny?" Once-ler said. "You're lucky to even be alive! We're taking you to a hospital."

Suddenly, Once-ler had to stop the truck, as the soldiers blocked the way.

"Hold on," a soldier said. "Everyone out of the car! We're evacuating the area."

"What are you talking about?" Once-ler said, as he and Ariel were pulled out of the car, except for Penny. "We gotta get this girl to a hospital."

"What girl?" The soldier asked.

Once-ler glanced into the truck, only to find Penny was gone, before he yelled, "Penny!" when he saw her running towards Bronx.

"Penny, no!" Ariel cried.

Once Penny was close enough to Bronx, she yelled, "Hey, no, stop!"

Bronx stopped and Crocker turned to Monger, who said into the walkie-talkie, "This is General W.R. Monger. Ready the attack and prepare to retreat to the fallback position."

"No! No, stop!" Ariel cried, breaking free from the soldiers and running over to Monger. "My daughter is out there!"

Once Penny was sure she had gotten her friend's attention, she turned to him and he lifted a claw to attack her.

"No, wait," Penny said. "It's me, Penny. Remember? It's bad to kill. And you don't have to be a killer. You are what you choose to be. You choose." Thinking she was unable to get through to him, she shut her eyes, waiting for him to deal the fatal blow, as she said, "Choose."

Bronx snapped out of his rage and said, "Penny."

He stared sadly at Penny, who said, "It's okay, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to hurt me earlier and I forgive you. We gotta show them you're good."

* * *

Back in the _Nautilus,_ the sailor traced the position, as the captain said, "_Nautilus_ to Monger. The bomb is armed and ready."

* * *

"What are you saying," Monger said to Once-ler, "he's friendly?"

"Yes," Once-ler said, "attacking him triggers his defense instinct."

"Don't listen, General," Crocker said. "Destroy the monster while we still have the chance!"

As Bronx approached, the soldiers aimed.

"General," Once-ler said, "you shoot and the whole thing starts all over again!"

"Stop it now, General!" Crocker said. "Our future's at stake!"

"Orders, sir?" a soldier asked, as Bronx came closer.

"Which is why you have got to stop!" The Once-ler said.

"It's getting closer," the soldier said. "Orders, sir?"

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Penny cried from beside Bronx.

"Penny!" Ariel cried.

"Hold your fire!" Monger ordered the soldiers, before he said to Crocker, "The girl's alive?"

"It's a trick!" Crocker said. "Fire the bomb!"

"Are you mad, Crocker?" Monger said, before he ordered the troops, "All units, stand down! Monger to _Nautilus._ Come in, _Nautilus._"

"_This is _Nautilus_ standing by,_" the captain said over the walkie-talkie, as Crocker glared at Bronx and then snatched the walkie-talkie out of Monger's hands.

"_**FIRE THE BOMB NOW!**_" Crocker screamed.

The button was pressed and the bomb was fired into the air.

Monger grabbed Crocker by his collar and said, "That bomb is targeted to the beast's current position! Where's the beast, Crocker?"

Crocker turned and then realized his big mistake, as he said, "Oh, we can duck and cover. There's a fallout shelter right there."

"There's no way to survive this, you idiot!" Monger said.

Crocker realized what he had done, as he said, "You mean we're going to—"

"To die, Crocker," Monger said, "for our country."

"Screw our country," Crocker yelled. "I wanna live!"

He attempted to run toward a truck, but was tripped by Bronx.

The soldiers aimed their guns at Crocker, as Monger ordered them, "Hold him, men. Make sure he stays here, like a good soldier."

At that moment, a siren began to go off, as everyone looked scared. Bronx led Penny over to Ariel, who hugged her.

When Penny heard the siren, she muttered, "Oh no." Bronx looked at her and Penny said, "It's a bomb. When it comes down, everyone will die."

"There it is," someone shouted, seeing the bomb in the distance.

In that instant, Bronx knew what had to be done.

"Shouldn't we get to a shelter?" Ariel asked Once-ler.

Once-ler shook his head, as he said, "It wouldn't matter."

Penny turned to Bronx, as she heard him say, "I fix."

She walked over to him, noticing him looking off into the distance.

"Bronx?" Penny said.

Bronx rubbed up against Penny, as he said, "Penny. You…stay." He gestured to himself, as he said, "I…go." He then told her, "No following."

He then stepped away from her and Penny felt tears welling up into her eyes, as she said, "I love you."

With that, she and everyone else watched as Bronx ran off to intercept the bomb. As Bronx was getting closer to the bomb, Penny's words echoed through his head.

"_You are who you choose to be."_

"Superman," Bronx said, before he shut his eyes.

* * *

From afar, everyone saw Bronx catch the bomb and then fall into the ocean with it. Penny and Ariel turned to see there was no bomb approaching. The townsfolk and soldiers cheered, but Penny turned away, allowing Ariel and Once-ler to hug her, as she started to sob.

Monger sighed, as he said, "Let's go home," before he turned to Crocker and said, "But, as for you, Crocker, you're under arrest…and all that that implies."

As the soldiers turned to leave, Penny pulled out of her mother's embrace and stared into the distance at the ocean, her eyes glistening with tears.

* * *

On top of a hill, the Lorax, the Barbaloots, the Swomee Swans, and the Humming Fish had watched everything. Pipsqueak looked at the Lorax for an explanation, but the Lorax's sad look was all that needed to be conveyed about what had happened and Pipsqueak started sniffling sadly.

"You done good, Bronx," the Lorax said with tears in his eyes. "You done good."

* * *

A/n: Aww. That's so sad. Bronx sacrificed himself to save everyone else from the bomb. Read and review for the last chapter! Also, if you're wondering about the part where Monger puts Crocker under arrest, that line came from an early draft of The Iron Giant.


	16. Chapter 15: Epilogue

Thanks to **Skullgal94** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Epilogue**

A few months later in the park, Penny was playing with her friends near a statue. The statue was of Bronx and Penny standing near him, petting him. Underneath it was a plaque inscribed, 'Dedicated In Memory of Bronx, the Gargoyle Beast, by the town of Toonville.'

Both Once-ler and Ariel were looking at it, as Ariel said, "Best work yet, honey. No doubt about it."

Ariel and Once-ler had both gotten together a few months after the discovery of Bronx and his sacrifice.

Once-ler smirked at her, as he said, "You think this is my best? Really?"

"Well," Ariel admitted, "you know, next to that bug…thing. You know, the one with the shovels." She then turned to where Danny, Jake, Ted, Audrey, and Penny, who had a bandage on her arm from when Bronx had scratched her, were and said, "Penny, come on, honey! Time to go!"

"See ya, guys," Penny called to her friends, as she went over to Ariel and Once-ler.

"See ya later, Penny," Audrey said, waving good-bye.

"Hey, Penny," Once-ler said, holding a package. "The general sent this to you."

"What is it?" Penny asked.

"He said it was the only part recovered," Once-ler said, as Penny unwrapped the package and discovered it was one of the ridges on Bronx's back. "He thought you should have it."

"I miss him," Penny said sadly, as she hugged the ridge to her chest and then looked at the statue of Bronx, before Ariel and Once-ler led her off.

* * *

_(Flashback to the present)_

There were tears in the old woman's eyes, as she told her granddaughter, "Not a day went by that she didn't think of her friend and how much he meant to her."

"How do you know, Grandma?" Ellie asked her.

The old woman smiled, as she pulled back the sleeve on her right arm to reveal five scars on it and pulled out a blue ridge, as she said, revealing what we have already known from the start, "Because I was there, Ellie, and I was that girl." The old woman, who we've now identified as Penny, said, "Now, get to sleep, Ellie. I'll take you to visit the park tomorrow."

* * *

Moments later, Penny was sitting out on the porch, staring into the distance at the ocean and rubbing the ridge.

"I miss you, old boy," she said, before she went inside and turned off the porch light.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, we see a certain gargoyle beast lying at the bottom of the ocean, before he opens his eyes and smiles.


End file.
